After a long delay, Sigma finally announced the price and availability of their new 50-150mm f/2.8 APO EX DC OS HSM lens: $1,099; shipping will start in early May. B&H is now taking pre-orders for the different versions of this lens.

Press release:

RONKONKOMA, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sigma Corporation of America, a leading researcher, developer, manufacturer and service provider of some of the world's most impressive lines of lenses, cameras and flashes, is pleased to announce that its newly upgraded 50-150mm F2.8 APO EX DC OS HSM telephoto lens is now available for the street price of $1,099.

The 50-150mm F2.8 APO EX DC OS HSM telephoto lens is the successor to the 50-150mm F2.8 APO EX DC II HSM. The updated lens now features Sigma’s own proprietary Optical Stabilizer (OS) technology, which offers the use of shutter speeds approximately four stops slower than would otherwise be possible. The lens design utilizes an inner-focusing and inner-zooming system that provides convenient handling and this, along with the OS feature, makes it favorable for high-performance, handheld, close-up photography. Additionally, the Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) ensures quiet and high-speed auto focusing, while allowing full-time manual focus capability.

The Sigma 50-150mm F2.8 APO EX DC OS HSM Canon mounts will be available next week, while the Nikon and Sigma mounts are expected to be available by the end of April.

“This lens is a great addition to our lineup of telephoto lenses, and will be a fantastic tool for portrait, landscape and nature photography,” said Mark Amir-Hamzeh, president of Sigma Corporation of America. “This is our tenth telephoto lens with Optical Stabilizer technology and provides another option for photographers looking to produce high-quality images.”

Six SLD glass elements provide exceptional corrections for all types of aberrations and provide high-quality imagery throughout the zoom range. It also has a rounded, nine-blade diaphragm that creates an attractive blur to the out-of-focus areas of the image.

A 50-150 DX lens that has the same dimensions as Sigma’s 70-200/2.8 FX lens and weighs about the same – what’s the point? It’s predecessor was nice and compact; the size and weight of this one are a disappointment.

e

it’s stabilized, that’s the point.

chase

I think the point is that Sigma is pissing in the wind with this lens. Their time and R&D would be spent better elsewhere. Why buy this lens at all when the 70-200 2.8 os is only $300.00 more. The 70-200 2.8 os would be the better choice due to the fact it can be used on FX and DX. $1100.00 for this DX lens is insane when its FX counterpart is between $1200-1400 depending at which websight you get it from.

No what you stated is the MSRP for the 70-200 2.8, its street price is around $1150 see herehttp://www.dwidigitalcameras.com.au/store/product.asp?idProduct=3015
Read the article again it clearly states that the street price for the 50-150 will be around $1100! You need to understand what street price and what MSRP is. MSRP is pipe dream price for the manufacture.

The article also states that “is now available for the street price of $1,099” – it is not really availlable today.

I especially wrote the “MSRP” for 70-200. Do you think the 50-150 f/2.8 OS will have a MSRP of about $2300?

Calm down, i know what a MSRP price is, especially for Sigma lenses. In a few months, you will see that the street price will be below $1.000 for the Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 OS.

Johan

I agree, this lens is just madness. In a smaller format I would definitely buy this lens but to make a DX lens with shorter reach the same size as 70-200 FX?? Who do they think will buy this. The main selling point with DX is smaller and less expensive lenses. If they can make 70-200 fx in this size, then it should logically be possible to make 50-150 dx at least 33% smaller. This is useless!

Anton

Why would you think it has the same size as the 70-200 FX? (I would not trust the specifications given at the B&H site) Let’s wait till the official announcement (and specifications).

Petia

It will have (about) the same size as the 70-200 because the OS group takes a lot of place. Take the old 50-150, add 50 mm (2″) for the OS and slightly size up the rest to keep it f/2.8, you’re done.
It will have to be much sharper on DX than the 70-200 to stand a chance commercially.

If it will be the same size, then the IQ will be better and this is important for a f/2.8 lens. I hope the autofocus will be very fast and accurate.
However, I think it will be lighter than Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 OS.

preston

This lens will not be “useless”. The 70-200 focal length became popular with 35mm shooters because of its ability to serve as a portrait zoom lens as well as event and nature photography. If you’re on a crop sensor this lens is much less useful for portraits since it is 105 mm equiv at the short end. You absolutely need at least down to 85 mm equiv to be fully useful for portraits! This is what makes the 50-150 focal range great for crop sensors – you now have a 75-225 equiv lens!

So as long as you didn’t have any plans on switching to a full-frame body in the near future, the 50-150 lens is a much better focal length range than 70-200 on a crop sensor, so who cares about the theoretical smaller and lighter advantages – the lens is more useful! (the smaller and lighter would be a nice bonus though)

chase

Nothing to see here, why not just pony up the extra cash for the 70-200 2.8 os. How about a 24-120 2.8 os hsm, that can complement the 120-300 2.8 os hsm. Or maybe a refresh of the 24-70 2.8 hsm, starting with that crap finish that peels off !

steven

wondering how that compares to the Pentax 50-135mm which sells cheaper

Nickon

It seems that many people are missing the benefit of this lens. I have been waiting for this since last year since I find a lens starting at 50mm to be much better for travel photography than 70mm, especially when doing street photography. Changing lenses back to my 17-50 when 70 is not wide enough does not go well when traveling. I agree the dimensions are a bit big, but I have always chosen quality and function over portability. Since I am already well invested in DX gear, I don’t have a problem buying another DX lens, but I was really hoping this was going to be under $999… So it may not be for everyone, but I’ll be ordering this real soon.

Geoff

“Why would anyone get 50-150 instead of a 70-200?”

Well morons because some of us crop shooters think that 70mm is to f***ing long to shoot on a crop sensor. 50-150 is the perfect portrait zoom range for crop. Stop treating lenses with different zoom ranges like they are interchangeable, THEY ARE NOT. It’s like comparing a 50mm with an 85!

chase

“Why would anyone get 50-150 instead of a 70-200?”

Easy if you look at it from my point of view, and im a crop shooter as well (D7000) I own the 10-20 3.5, 30 1.4, 24-70 2.8 hsm, and the 70-200 os hsm. I pretty much have most of the focal ranges covered up to 200. So there really is no “70 is to long for me” because I can just throw on the 24-70 2.8. With the exception of the 30 1.4, and 10-20 the rest can be used on FX if I ever decide to upgrade.

Petia

For portrait, at lot of morons prefer to shoot primes (and move their ass).
And since Sigma teles have been disappointing at the tele end for quite a long time, you wouldn’t necessarily want to crop their already subpar image to get over the 150 mm limit, if you often need it.
So for a lot of people having their 50-70 range covered, the only point is whether the 50-150 will be markedly more practical in the field. It probably boils down to what one shoots, and how.

chase

I totaly agree with the concept of shooting with fast primes and moving your ass for the zooming in and out for portraits.

Greg

This is a big disappointment for me. I was hoping for about the same package as the non-OS version which I sold while waiting for this one. I don’t understand how the weight ballooned 2x and it’s over 2″ longer? One advantage of DX over full-frame is lens weight/size and this clearly misses that design point entirely. Unless the specs are wrong I’ll pass.
I’ve been waiting for the D400 but am strongly considering the 5DMKIII for the 24-105 and 70-200 f/4 lenses. The new Nikkor 16-85 DX — if it turns out to be a constant aperture f/4 — would be a winner in my estimation.

bm

Weight ca. 1335 g, costs Germany E 1.199,–

FMJ

perfect lens if i am still with crop sensor…. my 70-200 on 1.6x crop canon is pretty much useless for portrait, i have to stand so far away to use it……

FMJ

always hoping for a 24-105/120 F4 from Sigma, Please make one for us, and with street price of <$800 please!